The EHIC card and travel insurance

We in the Britain are lucky to have a great and freehealthcare service, but elsewhere in the EU this is not always thecase. Some courses of treatment, operations, or other services willneed to be partially subsidised by the patient. The EHIC is bound bythe conditions of the hospitals country, not by the home country of thepatient, and so might surprise you when it comes to payment.

To use one common example, we have the French healthservice. If you don't buy travel insurance and really solely on yourEHIC, the following problems would occur should you need to seekmedical attention:

Prescription costs - Some prescriptions will besubsidised with the EHIC, but not to the full amount and some will notbe subsidised at all. Without travel insurance you could end up payingfor any prescriptions, and while most drugs don’t cost the earth somemedications can be quite expensive.

Doctors consultation - Quite a common occurrence,which might include everyday maladies such as stomach upsets. We in theUK are used to being able to see a GP free whenever we want, but inFrance if you don’t have travel insurance then you will be liable for30% of the consultation fee. This can become a real burden should youneed to call on the doctor out-of-hours, when the price would be quitehigh.

Hospital charges - French hospitals charge afixed-amount daily fee to patients staying there. This is another thingnot covered by the EHIC. It is unlikely that a long stay will benecessary but under certain conditions, say you have broken a leg andshould not be moved, this daily charge could mount up.

With all of these examples, having travel insurancewould save you from any financial commitment. And this is only medicalbills being discussed here, there are many other benefits of travelinsurance that are invaluable, such as cancellation cover and theftcover. They can be just as important as the medical side of things.

Spain, Switzerland and Portugal are further examplesof places that will leave you with a large liability for medical costsif you travel with an EHIC but without travel insurance. For thisreason as well as numerous other reasons, having travel insurance is anessential part of travelling that should not be ignored.